Corporate AV Blog

Depending on the needs of internal or external clients, your event may require working with any number of vendors to achieve your goals. But when does a vendor become more like a partner? Is there a point where your contact becomes more valuable to you than just a point of transaction? Of course, the answer to this question varies depending on how critical that service is to the success of the event, and also on how confident you are with that particular aspect as well.

No matter how glitzy (or not) the general session may be, it will take its due share of the planning attention as the pinnacle of conference programming. However, often the unsung hero of delivering content & messaging is the breakout session. With schedules packed between coffee breaks and afternoon rotations, and bookended by even more general sessions, the level of interaction gets higher along with the level of coordination.

It’s fitting to mention that this month’s Thoughts from the Road installment is actually being written from the road – the topic happened to come up on this very program and seemed like a good topic to cover. So…

Corporate event planning can include a wide variety of event formats. There are social events like awards dinners, golf outings, and holiday parties; and then there are more goal-specific events like town halls, business updates, and investor presentations – just to name a few. Naturally, planning these different programs require attention to different sets of details. For the latter group, the ‘conference’ format is often a fire drill in efficiency – planners are tasked with providing the structure to maximize the content offered to attendees, and maintain control over virtually every minute of their day(s).

In our final installment of the venue series, we’ll talk about a category that is rapidly advancing within the events industry: the Conference Center. The blend of variables leaves it somewhere between the blank canvas of a hotel ballroom, and the unique nuances of somewhere less conventional, but they are never-the-less a completely viable option. While conference centers are not exactly new as a category, there are new players popping up in major cities that have begun to compete with hotels for the same programs – and they do so with a focus towards hospitality and cutting edge technology.

We started off this series taking a look at the process of planning an event in an unusual or an otherwise unconventional setting. While that may seem objectively like a loaded topic and a poor jump-off point, it was actually the best way to start off this series. The fact is, each unique space has nuances of its own, and it’d be impractical to cover every permutation. Learning where the consistencies between them lie is a major advantage to being efficient with your time, and it’s a sure fire way to get your planning off on the right foot from airplane hangar to craft beer brewery.

As technology develops, so do new windows of opportunity. For meeting and event planners, being cost effective at every avenue is a key function, and travel costs are often one of the biggest expenses to mitigate.

Where you’re hosting your event can say quite a lot by itself, as can how you’re delivering the messaging. Having these two elements work in harmony is key to creating a unified experience for all attendees; however, it’s the latter that must be shaped to fit the setting more so than the other way around; effective audiovisual production must be designed for each specific setting.

At the heart of audiovisual production, and indeed live events in general, there is a message that needs to be communicated. Whether it’s spoken word alone, performance based, or entirely visual, taking care of the delivery of the message is absolutely critical.

CALL US1.800.488.8408

LINKS

OUR TESTIMONIALS

"Thanks so much for all you did to make the Gala a success. You and your team are amazing and make everything seem stress free."

"It was a pleasure working with you on the Bizbash NY Expo & Awards. Both you and your team (Keith, Joe, Mo and Peter) were full of professionalism, humor, and a ‘can-do’ attitude that made it a great team effort. Looking forward to the day when we can repeat the experience."

"You are truly a-Mo-zing! I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of your help with our events. You definitely went above and beyond in helping me to facilitate these events and for that I am extremely grateful. Thank you for everything and I look forward to working with you in the future."

"Thank you again for all of your help and contributions to our efforts. You have no idea how important your organization is to us and how much we value our partnership."

"The services from your company were great. Carl and Steve were pleasant, helpful, and set up everything so professionally. Thank you, Kevin, for working with us…on securing the right equipment and combining sight and sound to create the perfect ambiance."

"A big thank you to you and your team for your assistance last night. It was a special night that meant a lot to our family, so it was comforting to know that we were in good hands and that everything AV-wise would work perfectly without a hitch."

"These events are only possible with your support and we greatly appreciate the partnership. The stage looked great and you are a very flexible team that is always attentive to assuring our events are presented at the highest level of professionalism. Thanks again and we look forward to our next event together."

“Everything went very well and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and your team for making everything progress seamlessly for us. We look forward to a great working relationship.”